Prefabricated marquee



April 11, 1939.

M. 1.. CLARK PREFABRICATED MARQUEE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 20, 1956 INVEIWOR.

M L. CIA/PA April 11, 1939. M L CLARK 2,154,395

' PREFABRICATED MARQUEE Original Filed Nov. 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M 4. CLARK INvENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 11, 1939 PREFABRICATED MARQUEE Morton L. Clark, Lima, Ohio, assignor to The Artkraft Sign Company, Lima, Ohio, a corporation of. Ohio Original application November 20, 1936, Serial No.

Divided and this application July 26,

1937', Serial No. 155,755

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a structure commonly known as a marquee butsometimes referred to as a canopy. Among the objects of this invention are the provision of a marquee in which the advertising space ismore v effectively used than in comparable structures heretofore marketed; the provision of a structure of the character indicated which can be assembled at the factory in prefabricated units which can be shipped to the place where the structure is to be installed and can then be installed without the employment ofspecially skilled workmen; the provision of a structure of the character indicated which will have a very much improved appearance; the provision of a factory fabricated structure made of durable materials not subject torapi-d deterioration; and such further objects, advantages, and capabilities as will hereafter appear and as are inherent in the structure disclosed herein.

I as in position;

Fig. 2 represents the framing of this structure, in plan, partly broken away;

Fig. 3 represents a substantially central transverse vertical section, approximately alongthe bolted together with a minimum of labor.

plane indicated by the line 3- -3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 represents a transerse section through the central part of the right side of Fig. 2, substantially perpendicular to the illuminated face;

Fig. 5 represents a transverse section of one trough and the parts connected thereto, the same being an enlargement of a part of Fig. 4, with parts added.

Fig. 6 represents a fragmentary horizontal sectionthrough the structure shown in Fig. 1, the same being illustrated as being taken just above the bottom letter supporting rod.

The construction of the present invention comprises, essentially, four main elements, designated in the drawings annexedhereto by the numerals I, 2, 3, and 4. These. four units are fabricated atthe factory and shipped to the place of installation where they may be properly assembled and Section I is a flat base section which is placed against the wall of a building and secured thereto in an approved manner. Next, section 2 or section 3 is raised and put into position in front of section I and bolted thereto. The other one of these two sections is then put into position and bolted to section i and to the other triangular section which hasalreadybeenput in place. Section 4 is then installed in. front, of the vertical angle formed, by the meeting; of the two triangular sections, and this section'is then bolted in place, and the marquee or canopy is assembled, except that the weatherproof cover for the joint between sections 2 and 3 must be placed in position. Because the sections of the canopy are completely fabricated, the electric wiring of the assembled structure is ready to be connected to the electric service as soon as the canopy is installed. The striplight of section 4 is connected to the ornamental post and, when the latter is put in place and bolted to sections 2 and 3, the striplight extends back under the marquee to the building and is also secured to sections 2 and 3. In order to provide access for the workmen to the interior of the; structure, a permanent door is provided in the top of section I. As a result of this it is possible to get at the electrical connections any time changes or repairs may be needed. It is not necessary to tear off any part of the roof or soflit as access may be had through the door provided for that purpose.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the section 4 has a stepped front surface, and this unit may be pro vided with an internal framework which is secured to the forward angles of the units numbered 2 and 3. As illustrated in Fig. 6, this structure is more or less conventionalized.

Bolts ll pass through angle irons constituting a rear part of the unit I and through the wall upon which the structure is mounted, being held in place by plates and nuts on the inside of the wall. Enough of these bolts are used to make the fastening of the structure secure so that there will be no danger of falling. As shown in Fig. 2, the units 2 and 3 are bolted to the unit I and to each other by means of the bolts [2. At the top the bolts pass through angle irons l5a. Plates l3 are fastened at the inner angles of the units 2 and 3, at both the top and bottom corners, and from the bottom plates I3 radiate angle iron frame members l5b which are secured at their outer ends to horizontal angle iron frame members ll. These are comparable to members I5, located along the upper edges of the forward faces of units 2 and 3. The members l5 and I! are connected by angle iron frame members 16, and the members l5 support the outer ends of the channels l4. Thus, there is formed a very rigid support for the roof members 6. The roof supporting members I4, which might be called rafters, are channels turned up on edge and tapered from their wider outer ends to their narrower inner ends to give a suitable slope to the roof. Diagonal braces l8 give rigidity to the structure whichhas vertical angles l9 near its inner side, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

Porcelain enamel lined troughs or channels are secured to the uprights I6 in spaced relation, as shown in Fig. 4, and these have their longitudinal edges. turned up and down, respectively, to fit into channels of connecting members, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. These connecting members 2| are formed from sheet metal or other material, bent, as shown in cross-section in Fig. 5, to form deep, lower channels 22 and shallower, upper channels 23. The edges of these members 2| are secured to the edge portions of the troughs, as indicated at 24. Strips of translucent glass 25 are inserted from below, inside of the rods 26, and have their upper edges shoved into the upper grooves 22 and then have their lower edges inserted into the lower grooves 23, the glass or other translucent material being thus held very securely in position. The troughs 20 and connecting members 2| constitute a rigid, light impervious front for the sections 2 and 3, as the only light visible from in front of the sign is that which shines through the translucent strips 25, which prevents the light bulbs 21 from being visible at any time, except when the strips 25 are removed for some purpose. The bulbs 27 are mounted in sockets 28 in the bottoms or rear walls of the troughs 20.

From the drawings and the above description it will be apparent that the troughs 20 and units 2! serve several purposes. In the first place, they constitute the front of the marquee and the front and back of the sign; in the next place, they eliminate the necessity for the use of any framing members within the outside framing elements; then, also, they furnish supporting means for the lamp sockets as well as permanent reflectors giving a maximum of illumination.

Upper rods 29 cooperate with the rods 26 in supporting indicia, such as letters or numbers, in front of the translucent strips 25. These rods 26 and 29 are made sufficiently rigid that the weight of the indicia does not cause them to sag materially, and the letters therefore appear to be in straight lines. The indicia 30 have hooks 3i upon their rear faces which engage closely the rods 26 and 29 whereby to prevent rattling. As shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6, the rods 26 and 29 pass through vertical angles adjacent the ends of the troughs 20. These rods may be fastened in place in any suitable or conventional manner, the same being illustrated in Fig. 6 as having nuts screwed thereon to draw them tight and hold them against sagging.

An advantage inherent in the prefabrication of constructions such as that disclosed herein is that, in the shop, the construction can be made entirely of galvanized materials, whereas, structures built up on the job must be made of black iron. The use of galvanized and porcelain enameled material results in a much more durable structure-one not subject to deterioration, even in long periods of use. Also, since the reflectors are porcelain lined, they can be easily Washed, thus doing away with frequent painting or replacements.

While the present drawings disclose a marquee of V-shape, it is to be understood that the claims, unless specifically so limited, are not to be interpreted as being restricted to that form. The fundamental principles of this invention may be embodied in various shapes.

This is a division of my prior application, Seri l No, 111,807, filed November 20, 1936.

It will of course be understood that the specific description of structure set forth herein may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention as set forth in this specification and the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A marquee of the character indicated comprising a base framework for attachment to a building, a pair of triangular supporting frameworks for attachment to the base framework and to each other to form an approximately triangular skeleton having its exposed character-bearing faces at a substantial angle to the building wall and to each other, and character supporting means adjacent said exposed faces to support sign characters in approximate parallelism with the exposed faces of said supporting frameworks.

2. A marquee comprising a base section attachable to a building wall, separately fabricated units laterally attachable to the base section and to each other, and a cover section to'form a closure for the vertical opening at the juncture between two units, said units having substantially vertical indicia-displaying surfaces arranged at a substantial angle to the plane of the base section.

3. A marquee comprising a base section attachable to a building wall, separately fabricated units attachable to the base section and to each other, and a corner section attachable to said units to cover the vertical junction between two units, each unit having illuminating troughs extending substantially horizontally along an exposed face thereof and connected together to form a rigid substantially light-impervious front for the marquee.

4. A marquee comprising a base section attachable to a building wall, separately fabricated units attachable to the base section and to each other, and a corner section to form a covering for the vertical junction between two units, each unit having illuminating troughs extending substantially horizontally along an exposed face thereof and having translucent means in front of the troughs for the transmission of light forwardly from the troughs without exposing the illuminating means to View, said troughs being secured to frame elements of the marquee and collectively forming a front for the marquee.

5. A marquee comprising a base section attachable to a building wall, separately fabricated units attachable to the base section and to each other, the line of junction between the faces of the units being substantially vertical, and a corner section to cover the vertical junction between two units, each unit comprising a skeletal framework having illuminating troughs extending substantially horizontally along an exposed face thereof and having translucent means in front of the troughs for the transmission of light forwardly from the troughs without exposing the illuminating means to view, in combination with opaque objects mounted in front of the translucent means to be visible as silhouettes against a lighted background, the frameworks of the units being readily 'detachably connected together for assembly and disassembly.

6. A marquee of the character indicated comprising a supporting framework having substantially vertical faces arranged at a substantial angle to each other, structurally independent troughs arranged thereon, secured thereto and extending approximately horizontally, lamp sockets in the back of the troughs for the reception of electric bulbs, and readily connectible and disconnectible rigid means rigidly connecting the edges of the troughs, the troughs and the connecting means therefor forming a substantially light-impervious substantially continuous front for the exposed faces of the framework.

MORTON L. CLARK. 

